In 2004 a number of forces inspired Jonathan Butler to launch popular Brooklyn-based website Brownstoner.com. He was working at a hedge fund in Manhattan a job that was losing its luster for him. A self-described real estate junkie he had just submerged himself in the city’s market for months and finally purchased a brownstone house in a quickly gentrifying neighborhood called Clinton Hill in Brooklyn. And he was a big fan of blogs like Curbed and Gawker.